Irving T. Bush

Irving Tar Bush (12 July 1869-21 October 1948) was an American businessman who was responsible for the construction of several important buildings.

Biography
Irving Tar Bush was born in Ridgeway, Lenawee County, Michigan in 1869, the son of wealthy industrialist Rufus T. Bush, and he moved with his family at a young age to Brooklyn, New York. He worked for his father's oil refinery (which had been sold to Standard Oil) after the age of 19, and he and his father circumnavigated the world on their yacht in 1888. His father died in 1890 after accidentally drinking a fatal dose of aconite, and he left $2,000,000 to his wife and sons. Rather than live off of his father's money, Bush became chair of Continental Commerce Co., which marketed Thomas Edison's kinetoscope overseas. During the 1890s, he built the Bush Terminal transportation, warehousing, and manufacturing facility in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, employing more than 25,000 people within its boundaries. He also built Bush Tower on 42nd Street near Times Square and funded the construction of the Bush House in London. He died in 1948 at the age of 79.